On Friday, the Pakistan National Information Technology Board (NITB) warned of shutting down mobile phone services and internet services due to the ongoing power outage in the country.
“Telecom operators in Pakistan have warned about shutting down mobile and internet services due to long hours of power outages nationwide, as the interruption is causing issues and hindrance in their operations,” the NITB said on Twitter.
The statement by the NIBT comes days after Pakistan’s Prime Minister warned of increased electricity load shedding in July as the country failed to clinch a deal for natural gas supply for the month. “Pakistan could not get LNG supply but the coalition govt is trying to make the deal possible”, Shehbaz had said.
Pakistan warns of shutting down mobile and internet services amid power outages.
— Hindustan Times (@htTweets) July 1, 2022
Telecom companies’ operations severely impacted by electricity disruptions pic.twitter.com/xXUwySPZDq
The country of Pakistan has been facing an escalation of its power crisis. Also, the country’s monthly fuel oil imports hit a four-year high in June. The country has for the past two years alternating between importing oil and LNG, depending on their prices, to meet its energy requirements.
According to the reports, the LNG tenders were scrapped by the country for July due to high prices. This is not the first time that Pakistan has failed to complete an LNG tender. Earlier also, the state-owned Pakistan LNG Ltd had scrapped a purchase tender for July shipments of LNG after it received the costliest offer ever delivered to the nation.
In an attempt to boost energy conservation, Pakistan’s government has cut working hours for public servants and ordered shopping malls and factories to shut early in various cities, including Karachi. It already has two long-term supply deals with Qatar, the first signed in 2016 for five cargoes a month, and the second in 2021. Pakistan Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said that the ‘government is in midst of talks with Qatar about a new five or 10-year LNG supply deal for three monthly cargoes, as well as an additional cargo under an existing deal’.
Reports mention that the main reason for the power outages in Pakistan is a shortage of power and energy sources. This has led to 12-hour long blackouts in several states. Reportedly, adding to the crisis, Inflation has also reached the double-digit mark in July marking the biggest surge in nearly the past six years.
